If the deal comes together – and that remains a big ‘if’ – fast-growing Crazy Mountain would remain based in the Vail Valley and keep brewing there while using the 50-barrel Breckenridge brewhouse as its main production brewery, co-owners Kevin and Marisa Selvy said.

“It’s just too good an opportunity to pass up,” Kevin Selvy said Tuesday.

Selvy said Breckenridge officials offered Crazy Mountain first dibs on the property some time ago. At the time, Selvy said he thought the spot was just too large. Then Crazy Mountain reconsidered.

“We asked if the offer was still on table,” Selvy said, “and they said sure.”

Selvy said there is nothing on paper yet, only a gentleman’s agreement about getting first dibs, “and in the craft beer industry, that goes a long way.”

Breckenridge spokeswoman Terry Usry confirmed that Crazy Mountain is first in line for the property. Todd Usry, Breckenridge’s brewmaster and director of brewery operations, has a good relationship with Crazy Mountain and “respects them and what they have done tremendously,” she said.

Other potential buyers have expressed interest since Breckenridge’s Littleton plans were announced, but “Crazy Mountain was first to come to the table.”

Todd Usry said Kevin Selvy expressed interest to him in the property at the Vail Big Beers, Belgians and Barleywines Festival in 2012 and conversations have been ongoing since. He said Breckenridge continues to do due diligence on an asking price. “There is nothing anywhere close to ink on this deal,” Usry said.

Usry said still to be determined is what exactly will be for sale. “I’m not even sure what I am leaving or taking,” he said. “We’re not taking much. But there are big components, like a kegging line less than a year old that may come or may stay.”

Breckenridge will not move out of the Denver location until the Littleton brewery is up and running.

The Breckenridge Denver site is a prize, a rare turn-key facility coming on the market as a number of Colorado breweries are looking for room to stretch as the industry grows explosively.

Although Crazy Mountain did not envision opening a second brewery on the Front Range, the idea of moving into a ready-made brewhouse with a canning and bottling line instead of paying architects and engineers to build from scratch or remodel proved attractive, the Selvys said.

“Basically, the Vail Valley and Edwards will always be the headquarters of Crazy Mountain,” Marisa Selvy said. “We are not going abandon up here. That’s going to be a factory for us down there, but the heart and soul of the company, and all our corporate positions will still be up here in the Vail area … We don’t want to lose that mountain aspect of Crazy Mountain. The tasting room is going to be up here, the events and festival will be up here.”

The brewery produced 1,200 barrels in 2011 – its first full year – grew to 6,000 barrels last year and is projecting 12,000 for 2013.

Crazy Mountain distributes statewide in Colorado, Texas, Florida, New Mexico and in parts of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Ohio, Minnesota, Oregon and California. The brewery is starting to penetrate the Los Angeles/San Diego area, is about to test-market in White Plains, N.Y. and will begin to distribute in North Carolina in three weeks, Marisa Selvy said.

Mostly known locally for its canned six packs of Crazy Mountain Amber Ale, Mountain Livin’ Pale Ale and Lava Lake Wit, Crazy Mountain is about to begin a huge rollout of bombers this month, Selvy said.

Selvy said Crazy Mountain figured it would keep expanding in Edwards, since it has room with a huge parking lot. She said Crazy Mountain will use its existing brewery as either pilot or seasonal system if the Denver move happens. She said Crazy Mountain would turn the existing Breckenridge barbecue joint at the Kalamath Street location into a restaurant – cuisine to be determined later.

Crazy Mountain is looking at a variety of financing options, including traditional bank financing, a Small Business Administration loan and private lenders, Kevin Selvy said.

“There are a million different ways to skin a cat,” he said. “The good news is with the deal is there is a ton of collateral, based on our growth since we started. We are old enough now where banks are an option for us. Back when we started, we were so new, banks wanted to see three years of operating history – which we just did.”

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